Chapter 39: Star Mission: Grand Operation (3)

“Wow… is there anything you can’t do? Aren’t you just a broken character?”

Hihi spoke as if he was genuinely surprised.

I wiped my sweat and looked around to see everyone staring at me with astonished expressions.

“Gwansu, I did it all~”

“Wow, Taewoo, let’s be close friends.”

Gwansu servilely rubbed his hands together and put his arm around my shoulder.

“Hahaha, I’ll have to think about that a little.”

“Kekeke, Taewoo is surprisingly a comedy character.”

“Wow, the production crew must be freaking out now, right? If we just use the item on Taewoo, he could probably get 80 points by himself.”

Just as Yoo Jaeseung said, the PDs were in an uproar.

“Uh… this is unexpected.”

One PD said in a flustered voice.

“Isn’t the mission difficulty going to become too easy at this rate?”

Another PD asked worriedly.

The main PD rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression.

“Hmm… Jeong Taewoo’s abilities have exceeded our expectations. If this continues, the tension of the mission might drop…”

Some argued that the difficulty should be raised.

Others said that Jeong Taewoo’s ability could be used to make the program more interesting.

“The fencer, Lee Changseop, showed that it’s difficult enough by getting 15 points. It makes no sense to raise the difficulty now. Let’s just keep this as it is and raise the difficulty for the next mission.”

The main PD thought for a moment before making a decision.

“Fine. We’ll be satisfied with making them use an item on this mission. Let’s raise the difficulty from the next one.”

Completely unaware of this brief commotion happening off-camera,

I and the other participants were waiting while practicing for the mission.

“Pwahahaha, Seokjin, how did you only get two?”

“Hey, Lee Gwansu, you only got five!”

Even with practice, most of the original members couldn’t get more than 10 points.

The fencer, Lee Changseop, seemed to get the hang of it quickly, achieving a score of 25.

“Wow, but that’s really impressive. Changseop’s max is 25, so how did Taewoo, who doesn’t even know the fencing stance, get 42?”

At Jin Seokjin’s question, Lee Changseop nodded as if in agreement.

“I know, right? It’s easier said than done. The time it takes to thrust and get ready again makes it hard to score a lot. His reaction speed is really amazing.”

“Hahaha, thank you. It’s a job that lives and dies by reaction speed.”

Lee Changseop continued with a serious expression.

“Seriously, Taewoo, you would have been great even if you had chosen fencing.”

‘Fencing, huh…’

To be honest, I did think that with these reflexes, I could succeed in any sport.

‘But if I said I was going to do another sport, the God of Football wouldn’t just stand by.’

“I just like soccer.”

Lee Changseop said with a hint of disappointment.

“It’s a real shame. If Taewoo had done fencing, the sport would be even more popular than it is now. Because he’s handsome.”

“You’re handsome too.”

“Hey, hey, man. Standing next to you makes me feel like a squid. Ah, I hope the viewers don’t make too much fun of me.”

Just as Lee Changseop said, among sports, soccer, baseball, and basketball are considered popular sports in Korea, while others are classified as unpopular.

As a result, there was a significant difference in terms of capital and other resources.

‘Volleyball has been gaining popularity lately, but it’s still hard to call it a major sport.’

The existence of a star player is what revitalizes such unpopular sports.

Of course, if you win a medal at a competition like the Olympics, like Changseop did, you get a brief moment of attention, but that’s all it is—a moment before people quickly forget, which is the reality.

While I was lost in these thoughts, the PD’s voice echoed through the studio.

“Everyone, we will now begin the fencing mission, ‘Surpass the Speed of Human Reaction’!”

“Already? Seokjin still hasn’t gotten past two points. Give us a little more time.”

At Lee Gwansu’s words, Jin Seokjin snapped and shouted.

“No, I’m confident I can do really well. Let’s go right now!”

“Just decide the order and you can start right away.”

“Okay, good. How should we do the order?”

Hihi said playfully.

“I think it’s right for Seokjin to go first, in order of who’s worst.”

Jin Seokjin glared at Hihi and said.

“Hey Hihi, you, come here.”

“Ah, why? It’s true.”

“Okay, good. Seokjin first, then.”

“Jaeseung, you too?”

“No, Seokjin, listen carefully. You go out first and show them. ‘This is how good I am, I am the Jeong Taewoo of this show.’ How about that?”

Ah… I don’t know if our Seokjin is just playing a character or if he’s really like this, but he’s so simple.

To see him get happy from just a few words from Jaeseung.

‘He was definitely a serious and cool senior on the bus.’

The side he showed when the cameras weren’t rolling was charismatic and serious, like a veteran of broadcasting.

He was definitely like that. Our variety genius.

“Alright, I’ll show you. I may not look it, but I used to fly in my prime!”

Then Hihi threw in another comment.

“Now it’s not your prime, it’s your menopause.”

“What!”

After some discussion, the order was decided as follows.

1. Jin Seokjin 2. Lee Gwansu 3. Song Jihee 4. Yoo Jaeseung 5. Kim Jeongguk 6. Hihi 7. Kim Cheolmin 8. Lee Changseop 9. Jeong Taewoo

Of course, there was a brief commotion.

“What, I’m second? Does that make sense? I thought we were going in order of who’s worst!”

He quieted down after a single fist massage from Jeongguk.

And so the game began.

Jin Seokjin proved why he was not the “Jeong Taewoo of the show” with an ‘incredible’ score of 1.

Following him, Lee Gwansu, Song Jihee, Yoo Jaeseung, Kim Jeongguk, and Hihi also set records of less than 10 points each.

The total for the six of them was a mere 30 points. With only three people left, the number seemed pathetic.

But surprisingly, the atmosphere in the studio was good.

“Yes, we have Olympic medalists on our side!”

Yoo Jaeseung said with a grin.

Everyone nodded and laughed at his words.

Kim Cheolmin, Lee Changseop, and me.

Everyone’s expectations were focused on the three of us.

The basketball player, Kim Cheolmin, boasted a massive height of 205 cm.

Everyone expected his long arms to be an advantage.

But reality was different.

Perhaps hindered by his great height, Kim Cheolmin unexpectedly only managed to score 10 points.

His movements were slower than expected, and he seemed to struggle with controlling his large frame in the confined space.

Next up, Changseop also scored 20, which was less than his practice record.

Now, it was up to me to score 40 points all by myself.

“Go, Jeong Taewoo!”

“Am I a Pokémon, Gwansu?”

At that, Gwansu grinned and said.

“For someone like you, I’ll make a special exception and call you a Legendary Pokémon.”

‘Okay, I just have to do it like in practice.’

After all, just doing as I did in practice would be enough to pass.

And with the item for any unforeseen circumstances, I was confident we could clear this mission no matter what.

I focused and reacted quickly each time a light appeared.

It went more smoothly than expected, and I was in an even better rhythm than during practice.

“Alright Jeong Taewoo, come on back now!”

Snapping back to reality at Gwansu’s voice, I saw that I had achieved a score of 45.

“Whoooosh~”

“Hey, did you just make the sound of going into a Poké Ball?”

I grinned and replied.

“Good sense, right?”

Then Gwansu patted my shoulder and said.

“Unlike your face, you don’t spare your body. Hey, I’ll support you. How about becoming a fixed cast member?”

Just then, Jaeseung cut in.

“Hey Lee Gwansu, who are you to support Taewoo? You should worry about keeping your own spot.”

“What?”

“Oh, look, your mic is loose too. That’s why instead of supporting others, you’re the one getting pushed out.”

“Is my mic loose?”

The moment Gwansu lowered his head to check his microphone,

Jaeseung’s hand slapped his cheek.

Slap-

“Ah-ack! Why did you hit me?”

Gwansu shouted, clutching his cheek.

“For being insolent.”

Gwansu turned to me, looking angry.

“Hey Taewoo, was I being insol-“

At that moment, his words were cut off by another slap- sound.

“Jaeseung told me to do it.”

“Ah, seriously, Jaeseung!”

Gwansu cried out as if he was being wronged.

I could see why Jaeseung was slapping Gwansu, and it was a really solid hit.

Of course, it was a skit…

‘Huh? But he looks genuinely angry? Nah~ It must be acting, right?’

Since he is an actor…

He can’t be really angry, right?

***

After successfully completing the fencing mission, we boarded the bus again.

While heading to our next destination, the basketball mission site,

we started the second mini-game inside the bus.

The name of this game was ‘Death Initial Consonant Quiz’.

The PD called out the initial consonant: “S.”

The answers came in order of where they were seated.

“Success,”

“Season,”

“Soa…”

Hihi started to speak and then hesitated.

Ding!

The Death Initial Consonant game was a game where everyone had to say five words starting with the given consonant quickly without making a mistake.

But the game ended because of Hihi’s hesitation.

“Hey Hihi, what were you trying to say?”

At someone’s question, Hihi answered in a fluster.

“Uh, soap! Soap!”

“Well, you should have said it quickly then. We failed because of you.”

And so, the second mini-game ended in failure, and we arrived at the basketball mission site.

“This basketball mission is a blind shot mission. Everyone has three chances to throw the ball from the 3-point line while blindfolded. If the total number of successful shots reaches 15, you succeed.”

This mission, too, was an impossibly difficult challenge.

“Hey, that’s ridiculous. How are you supposed to score a basket with your eyes closed?”

Just as those words suggested, everyone except for the basketball player, Kim Cheolmin, couldn’t even get a feel for it.

Most of the shots flew in completely different directions from the basket.

A few even threw the ball out of bounds.

Only Kim Cheolmin managed to sink a few shots.

But it was far short of the target of 15.

“Now, shall we move on to the final mission, soccer?”

“These devils…”